Hellhound
by Just A Passing Cynic
Summary: Cedric’s death changed Harry; he was no longer a boy waiting for instructions. Harry decides to take charge of his life and he will do whatever it takes; even if it meant being trained and used as an elite operative in the Department of Mysteries. HPLM
1. Prologue

**Hellhound**

--------------------------------

Cedric's death changed Harry; he was no longer a boy waiting for instructions. Harry decides to take charge of his life and he will do whatever it takes to win the war; even if it meant being trained and used as an elite operative in the Department of Mysteries. HPLM

--------------------------------

**Main Relationship Focus: **Harry Potter/Lucius Malfoy  
**Genres: **Action & Adventure,  
**Rating: **M for blood, violence, gore, language and sex  
**Length: **Epic  
**Warnings: **Blood, violence, gore and sex**  
Disclaimers: **This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros, Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
**Beta: **Unbeta-ed.

--------------------------------

Prologue: The Last Straw

Dark beryl eyes stared into the grey ceiling above, revealing an inner anguish but they also held a determination. At fifteen, Harry James Potter had experienced more than a man thrice his age would have in his life. He had been hunted by a group of power-hungry, dark arts obsessed wizards since the age of one after the fateful Halloween night that caused him his parents and a happy childhood; faced the most powerful Dark Lord in two centuries four times and lived to tell the tale; and…

Witnessed his first death — the death of a friend.

Harry was exhausted but he knew that peace will evade him until his nemesis was defeated. Obviously the path that he was currently on — obeying Dumbledore's every word — wasn't quite working. He had to do something about that; about him obeying the old wizard's every instruction.

The teenager then looked down and transferred his attention to the letter he had in his grip. The parchment was nothing out of the ordinary with its crestless appearance but the content was extraordinary.

_Mr. Potter, _

_It has come to our attention that you might require professional instruction in certain fields of specialty for you to have a chance at winning the pending war. The offer stands until this letter burns in about half an hour; if you accept the preposition, then drip three drops of blood onto the parchment. _

_Do not reply in any way. _

_Sincerely,  
D.o.M_

The boy's eyes hardened and then produced the needle he usually used for mending his second-hand clothes. He pricked his finger and watched the required three drops of blood hit the ordinary parchment. The drops of crimson liquid glowed and disappeared. Shortly after and right on time, the letter vanished into nothingness in a spectacular burst of silver flames. A portkey replaced the burned letter; it was attached with a note.

_Pack nothing, only take your wand and the password is 'Keres'_.

The note burned away too and dark green eyes glittered. Harry took the portkey and his gaze hardened again before he whispered resolutely into the miserable cramped space he called his room.

"Keres."

--------------------------------

Coming Up Next: _Shackles Unbound_

New story! I wanted to write a sexy!dangerous! Harry after that fight scene in Sweet Enigma. Can you blame a girl? I've also been itching to write a Lucius/Harry - something hot and different. Hope you guys liked it. Over the next few days, I'll be posting like crazy - I've got about five stories that I've started, now that I have the time to focus more time on them, I'll be on fire! **- laughs -**

My other stories will be updated soon! I will be making up for lost time.

Lemme know your thoughts on this one!

Cheers,  
Lex.


	2. Chapter I: Revised

**Hellhound**

--------------------------------

Cedric's death changed Harry; he was no longer a boy waiting for instructions. Harry decides to take charge of his life and he will do whatever it takes to win the war; even if it meant being trained as an elite operative in the Department of Mysteries. HPLM

--------------------------------

**Main Relationship Focus: **Harry Potter/Lucius Malfoy  
**Genres: **Action & Adventure,  
**Rating: **M for blood, violence, gore, language and sex  
**Length: **Epic  
**Warnings: **Blood, violence, gore and sex**  
Disclaimers: **This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros, Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
**Beta: **Unbeta-ed, anyone interested? PM me

--------------------------------

I: Shackles Unbound

Harry reappeared in a room which was wider than the wall space outside led most to believe and it extended nearly a hundred feet. The ceiling was nearly fifty feet high and shrouded in darkness in some areas. The room was at least one hundred and eight feet deep. The volume of the room was immense and Harry could feel a charge to the air in the room. The green-eyed teen stood near the door and simply looked around for a few minutes.

"I'm not going to go easy on you, kid" Harry spun around and saw an older man with a fair share of wrinkles; he had mostly grey hairs with a few black strands scattered about his head. He was solidly built and was rough-looking like a tough commander he saw in the few actions movies he came across while Dudley was watching in the living room but he was a lot better than Moody.

The glint in the unknown dark eyes told Harry that the older man wasn't kidding. "No Killing Curse, yell out yield when you have had enough, if not, I will stop when you lose consciousness."

With a tap of his wand, he vanished and the room shifted into an old mansion. Harry looked around and saw old furniture where nothing had been before. He stepped to his right side and touched a chair. It felt real.

Enough, thought Harry, focus!

The first thing the teen wizard did was to spell his steps silent as he ventured out of his room. Harry walked for a few minutes before he had that feeling of someone attacking him. The young man spun around and ducked just when a silver ribbon aimed for his head flew over him. Harry slashed a red 'X' and sent a streamer of a blood red colour to the direction in which the silver spell came from.

The teenager heard wood splinter as his spell hit the wall instead of a person. Suddenly flames erupted from the floor and Harry had to look away for a moment. He cast the Flame-Freezing spell on himself and jumped over the wall of fire. He saw movement on his life so he fired a Stunner in that direction; the sound of wood splintering hit him again.

Harry decided to use a spell that he came across while studying for the Tri-Wizard tournament. The teen wizard whispered a couple of Latin words and narrowed his eyes. Harry made his way down to the first floor of the mansion as quickly as possible without making any noise and placed delayed spells that stuck on the person who would come in contact with the area all over random spots of the room. He then charmed his glasses to reveal the spells as softly glowing spots of different colours, depending on the nature of the spells.

He only had two minutes to lure his opponent to the first floor. Looking around the vicinity, Harry spotted a few marble statues and with a smirk, he shot off a couple of Reductor Curses. The statues disintegrated into white chips with satisfyingly loud noises.

Harry crept into one of the other rooms and caught his breath. He then analyzed the other man's profile. The man was obviously an expert dueler by the way he carried himself with understated confidence, his hard gaze told stories of being a veteran who has seen the crueler side of human nature. His solid build probably meant that the man relied more on power than speed but the man was also very good at stealth because Harry hadn't caught sight of him yet.

The teenager's glasses slid off the bridge of his nose slightly and Harry swore to get his eyesight corrected later. The boy then decided to move around; he didn't want to stay in one place for long. The moment he got out of the room he was struck by a Bludgeoning spell in the back, Harry gasped but managed to take cover behind a statue.

Stunners, Impedimentas and Reductors were fired repeatedly as streaks of red, yellow and blue travelled back and forth between the two dueling parties. Harry threw up a shield quickly and poured a significant amount of power behind it. It almost turned solid and held on for quite a while under the barrage of spells coming from the adversary.

A Cutting Curse managed to sneak through the shield but Harry didn't notice the pain as it hit him, the boy merely performed the counter-curse and tried to identify the direction in which the spells were coming from. The green-eyed fifteen-year-old stepped away from his shield and his arm got hit by a Bone Shattering Curse. Gritting his teeth, Harry tolerated the pain, which was numbed by the adrenaline coursing his veins. He retaliated with a combination of Cutting Curses, Stunners and the newly-learned Bone Shattering Curse. He had heard the incantation and was slightly happy when he got it right.

Harry suddenly heard a resounding "Fuck!" and a thud. The other man had slipped on the spelled floor which meant that the sticky delayed curses would have come in contact with the man. Harry made his way cautiously over to the area when he was suddenly hit with a Cruciatus. The beryl-eyed teen managed to rein in his screams but he was disorientated by the pain. Harry felt white hot knives of pain dig into his joints and set his nerves on fire. However, in amidst of the pain, Harry managed to whispered a Latin word which activated the delayed spells of a locking nature.

The fallen man's eyes widened when he fell over trying to take a step. His hold on the Cruciatus weakened and Harry felt the pain lessened. He shook his head to clear the spots in his vision from the pain and just before the older wizard managed to counter the Leg-Locker Curse, Harry channeled all the pain and fury he had felt because of Jonathan plus the hate he felt for Voldemort, the anger he felt towards his relatives and the entire system into his Cruciatus.

"_Crucio."_

The man fell onto the floor screaming from the intensity of the pain. A shout from the side caused Harry to break off his spell.

"Enough, Harry, he's down already! It's over, the test is over!" An attractive witch with piercing grey eyes and nondescript brown hair tied in a simple tail at the base of her neck ran into the room and went to Harry's side.

"Harry, you have serious injuries. I'm bringing you to the Healers now."

"What injuries? I'm just a little sore and tired. I'm okay." The look on the woman's face told Harry that she didn't believe him. At all.

"Your right arm is broken, you sprained your left ankle; you've got serious bruising on your back and several lacerations from the Cutting Curses. Shut up, I'm not going to hear a word from you. You are coming with me to the Healers right now."

She fished out a Portkey from her pockets and placed the other man's hand over it with hers and Harry before activating it. The trio reappeared in the Healing Ward, two men and two women converged onto the threesome. The older man was levitated into a bed next to Harry's.

The healers started pouring potions down both his unconscious opponent and Harry's throats. The healer-in-charge, a woman by the name of Henderson turned to a man whose face Harry thought would not look out of place as the caring, well-to-do father in a family picture. His fair was a light blonde and he had an average build that was leaning towards being described as lithe. The healer did not look very happy; especially with her hand on her hip.

"What is this, Charles? Armageddon?"

"No, Emma, it was an admission test." The answer just deepened the frown on the healer's face and then she replied.

"I want a healer present at testings if this is what happens. I don't even want to know what other spells were used and what if both the boy and Jonathan were delayed?"

After being prodded and tested, Harry was finally left alone as the Skele-grow Potion worked its magic. The unidentified woman was there with Charles.

"That was eye-opening. I was surprised Jonathan even used the Cruciatus." Charles had a calculative but appreciative glint in his brown eyes. Harry's gaze hardened slightly.

"It's nothing compared to Voldemort's."

The woman's grey eyes softened again and Charles nodded. The man offered another smile and left the bay. She took a seat by the bedside and shot him a smile.

"It's only far that you know my name; since I brought you here. I'm Kay Alexander and I was on the same team with your father for two years before he faced Voldemort for the last time. He was a good man," Kay's cool grey eyes softened slightly, "You know, this was how I first met your father. In the medical bay, he just got his arse handed to him by Jonathan but not before James pulled Jonathan down too. You reminded Jonathan of James, I could see it in his eyes. James was one of the best operatives the department had ever seen. It was a great loss."

Their conversation was interrupted when a healer bustled over and handed Harry a purple vial of potion. "Take that before you leave, you'll be ready in a few minutes."

Harry uncorked the bottle and swallowed its slightly sweet tasting contents in a gulp. The fifteen-year-old found himself feeling energized. Kay smiled and helped him up. The pair left the medical bay and entered another room. This time, the room felt normal, as it look as if it was a picture of an elegant study right off the places of a magazine. Charles was seated comfortably in a high-backed black leather chair.

"This is your file; please tell us if there is anything we are missing."

The man then slid a vanilla folder to Harry's direction across the table and the young man picked it up and opened it.

_**Harry James Potter.**_

_Son of James and Lily Potter, born July 31__st__ 1980. Orphaned on 31__st __October 1981. _

_Currently of Number Four Private Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey since 1981; formerly of an unknown address in Godric's Hollow and formerly of Potter Estate near Godric's Hollow. _

_1986: First signs of accidental magic when he appeared on his Muggle school's roof to escape bullies. _

_1987: Grew back his hair overnight after a bad hair-cut_

_1992: Released a snake after vanishing the glass panel with accidental magic. Sorted into Gryffindor House in Hogwarts, youngest seeker in a century. Saviour of the Philosopher's Stone. _

_1993: Parseltongue. Defeater of a Basilisk. Winner of the Special Award for Services to the School_

_1994: Familiar with the use of a Time-Turner. Highly skilled in the use of the Patronus Charm._

_1995: Champion of the Tri-Wizard Tournament which had four competitors. Shown the ability to defeat the Imperius Curse and maybe the Killing Curse. _

_An aptitude for advance magic._

Harry wondered where the department got all their information from and where the hell is the Potter Estate? They knew an awful lot about him and Harry wasn't sure whether that it was a good thing or not. He suddenly felt a probing at his Occlumency shields and Harry allowed the person into his mind before forcefully thrusting the intruding presence out.

"I am Charles. We go by our first names or our cover names. You will get one as time goes on. I must say, Nike," Charles turned his attention to Kay, "your choice of candidate did not disappoint.

Kay inclined her head to show her acceptance of the praise. Charles returned his gaze to Harry. "I'm offering you to enter our training program, are you willing to accept?"

Harry nodded and Charles smiled.

"I expect great things from you, Harry."

"You and everyone else," Harry muttered under his breath, Kay smirked and Charles chuckled. The door suddenly swung open and Jonathan hobbled in. He gave Harry a long, intense look before saying.

"Kid, who taught you how to duel?"

Harry held the hard gaze with his own startling one, "No one."

Jonathan's dark eyes glittered when he heard the answer and he nodded curtly, turning to Charles.

"If you can't get James's boy to stay, you might as well retire. I'll see you in training on Monday, oh-eight-hundred sharp." With those words, the older man hobbled out of the room.

"Well, that has got to be the most positive thing I've heard him say about a newbie. You must have given him one hell of an impression." Charles smiled, Harry shrugged and asked bluntly.

"So I will learn everything today and more?"

Charles nodded sagely and Harry paused, wondering whether he was just walking out of one controlling presence into another. Then he realised that he was making the choice to walk into this one, he was still in control of his own fate.

"Then, I'm in."

"Excellent, now let's get on to the boring stuff," Charles pulled out another folder from the seat of the chair next to him. "We have a few things to settle before you can leave and start playing around with Jonathan on Monday. I have a contract here that you need to read and sign. Harry opened the folder and started reading the top form.

_I, the undersigned, do hereby swear a wizard's oath to keep my orders, missions, leaders and teams secret from all unauthorized personnel. I ill keep my secrets until my death or am ordered to reveal such secrets by my direct superiors. _

Harry didn't sign his name but instead fished out the same needle he used previously and pricked his thumb. The young wizard was satisfied with the blood imprint. Charles was intrigued.

"Why didn't you sign your name?"

"I don't want my name to be traced and since blood is unique, it would make the perfect signature." Charles quirked his lips and nodded. Harry then handed the form back to Charles and he took the sheet quickly.

"You have the stare down, Harry. I now see why a few people are intimidated by you. now if we can finish the forms. The next one is a release from absolving the department of any liability should you get hurt or die."

The next forms were worked through methodologically until Harry got to the Next-of-Kin form.

"I have no next of kin."

"Well, then you can name a person or persons who you would like to handle your affairs. If you have a will, then we can just put that down."

Harry nodded and then brought out a request.

"While you are at it, is it possible to get me emancipated?" Charles paused and then nodded.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

The boy-wizard came to the last form. He looked up and found Charles standing up with his wand drawn. Harry reacted the only way he knew if another person had his or her wand drawn: draw his own wand too.

Charles immediately lowered his wand and apologized. "I should have given a warning, I apologize. Not everyone had to fight for their lives like you."

Harry paused and then lowered his wand, "I'm sorry; it's an occupational hazard for me after having so many people after my skin."

"I completely understand," Charles said with a smile, "I am impressed by your reflexes. So may I get on with the spell that I need to cast on you as the final step of the registration?"

"What kind of spell?" Harry was done with taking chances, this time he wanted to know everything concerning him. Too long has he been in the dark, now he wanted control.

"It's a variation of the Fidelius Charm that Research had adapted to protect our information, identities and secrets from others. It prevents Legilimency from extracting any information concerning this department. It's just a precaution but a necessary one at that."

"Alright, let's get this over with." Harry felt magic wash over him as he pressed his bloody thumb onto the last form while Charles chanted a string of Latin words. The feeling remained for a few seconds before fading. Harry returned the form and the folder. Charles smiled.

"Congratulations, you're now a probationary member of Team X and Nike will be your supervisor until you are deemed ready for field missions. Welcome to the family, Harry."

"Thank you, Charles."

"Whatever for?"

Harry's dark green gaze glittered with something Charles wouldn't expect from a fifteen-year old as he smirked. Kay merely smiled knowingly.

"For removing my shackles."

--------------------------------

Coming up next: _Turning Point_

Chapter I revised again, I didn't really like the other version. So I hope you guys still like it. Note, this fic is inspired by Lord Dwar's Summer of Change.

Cheers,  
Lex.


	3. Chapter II

**Hellhound**

--------------------------------

Cedric's death changed Harry; he was no longer a boy waiting for instructions. Harry decides to take charge of his life and he will do whatever it takes to win the war; even if it meant being trained as an elite operative in the Department of Mysteries. HPLM

--------------------------------

**Main Relationship Focus: **Harry Potter/Lucius Malfoy  
**Genres: **Action & Adventure,  
**Rating: **M for blood, violence, gore, language and sex  
**Length: **Epic  
**Warnings: **Blood, violence, gore and sex**  
Disclaimers: **This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros, Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
**Beta: **Unbeta-ed

--------------------------------

Chapter II: Turning Point

"Come on, Keres," Harry turned at the name, wasn't that the activation password for the Portkey to the Department of Mysteries. Kay quirked a corner of her lips and her grey eyes glittered.

"That's your codename, Keres, Death Spirits also known as the Hellhounds of Greek Mythology. Team X's codenames are all found in Greek mythology; they are usually a slight reference to the said member's abilities. I found it fitting for you."

_You should have seen yourself when you were inflicting the Cruciatus Curse on Jonathan; you looked so much like an avenging spirit with wild hair and brilliant eyes. Lily and James would be proud; _Kay thought and waited for her charge's response.

"Keres…" Harry tried it and he nodded.

"I like it."

Kay smiled, "Now, remember that you can only address me as Nike when in the presence of others. Not even in front of our team members even though they know of our true identity. You never know who is listening."

Kay brought Harry into a small room with the gold name plate 'X' on the door and ushered him in. The room was spacious with a few couches, a round table, a few lockers and a clock on the bare walls. Harry thought, as with most of the décor in the department, it was ordinary. Kay gestured for him to wait as she pressed the earpiece in her right ear with her hand.

"Team X, Congregate."

Within ten minutes, three men of various heights wearing the same nondescript black cloak with hoods walked into the room. Kay motioned for her team members to remove their hoods.

The tallest man, probably at six feet five, had long black hair tied with a black leather strip and eyes, although crimson, looked nothing like Voldemort's crazed gaze. He was very handsome. The shortest member of the team was an androgynously beautiful man with blond hair and sparkling blue eyes while the last member was an ordinary looking man with brown hair and soft chocolate eyes that reminded Harry of Hermione.

"Everyone, this is," Kay closed her eyes and whispered, "Leglimens."

Harry heard her voice echo his head, _Harry Potter and he'll be with us temporarily as a probationary member of the team. His codename is Keres; his stint with us is protected with a Level Four Secrecy Act. _

"This is Ambrose." Kay gestured to the crimson-eyed man who inclined his head.

_Adrian Saint Clair_

"This is Calyx." The blond sent him a coy smile and waved. Harry couldn't help himself but to see the other man as a distant relative of the Malfoys.

_Julian Lucas _

"And this is Chiron." The brunet wizard smiled.

_Galen Cyrus_

"Welcome, Keres." Galen shook his hand and Julian did the same but with an extra once-over. Kay gave Julian a pointed look and the blond pouted but relented.

"Alright, the introductions are over. Go back to whatever you guys were doing, I'll come up and join you later after I'm done with Harry's settling." The three men nodded and left the room quickly. Then something beeped and the woman went to a box by the left side of the room.

"Your new cloak. Standard Unspeakable equipment." Kay announced as she removed a package from the box. Harry accepted it with a nod and tried it on. He found it comfortable and cool within the confines of his cloak. The woman then launched into a quick explanation of the garment's functions.

"Alright, this cloak has four components to it. Protection, invisibility, blending and comfort. The cloak will be able to stop most simple spells and a reasonable number of intermediate spells; it is also spelled to be resistant to Summoning Spells. You are also able gain partial invisibility if you wished, just tap twice. Blending in involves three taps and the name of the change in colour. The cloak has already in-built adjusting spells that will adapt to your surroudings, keeping you in almost constant comfort."

Harry nodded again. Then he noticed the badge on the right bicep sleeve; it had red, blue, green, yellow, white and black bars.

"What do the colors on the badge mean?"

Nike tapped hers and her badge on her cloak revealed itself. The colors went from left to right. "The red bar is for offensive spells. The number of bars is a weighted average based on power, knowledge, and skill with the spells. Everyone needs to be at least a level four in red and blue to be added to a team. Blue is for defensive spells. Next is yellow and that is speed and accuracy of spells. White is for healing spells and green is for Stealth, Tracking, and the Covert skills. Last is black and that reflects your ability with the Unforgivables. Speed of casting, ability to hold them, and proficiency at fighting them.

Harry saw that Nike had impressive statistics with an eight red bars out of eight, six for blue, seven for yellow, seven for green, five for white and seven for black.

"We can test as often or as seldom as we want to get our levels reassessed. At the beginning, people are always trying to get higher levels but over time they settle for what they have. The top bar indicates our rank and our team. I have a Roman Numeral X saying I am part of team ten. I have five pips of six showing that I am a level five operative. A level one is a new member or someone who is still learning the ropes. A level four or five is the team leader."

"A level six is a commandant meaning they have authority over multiple teams and have operational discretion if a mission becomes complicated by external forces. In short, if the mission is compromised, a level six can change the mission to something attainable or call it off. A level six would be Charles and Jonathan. They call the shots and plan the missions."

"Let's see what they started you out as and don't worry about any of your levels right now. They are bound to go up." Kay tapped Harry's hidden patch and her mouth quirked into a half-smile. "You really must have impressed them earlier. You will make some friends and enemies among the teams with levels like this starting out." Harry looked down and saw the colored bars. Five red, four blue, four green, five yellow, no healing white and five black with one pip in the upper field.

"Everyone gains at least one level in all areas and many get an increase of two or more levels. The pip and your levels in offensive and defensive spells mean that you can be added to a team and sent on missions already. But Charles had specific instructions for you to undergo some more extensive training before sending you into the field. He's got high hopes for you."

Harry nodded and tapped his badge to disappear. Then only a gold Roman Numeral X resurfaced and Kay explained again. "When you are back at the Department, it's your identification, saying that you're with Team X and you'll have access to whatever is allowed to a member of the teams. You will gain higher clearance levels as you increase your operative level."

Harry nodded again. Kay smiled and then said, "Alright, let's get to you Andrew."

The youth couldn't decide whether the glint in the woman's grey eyes was a good thing or a bad thing. They left the room and walked into another room, this time it was a hall that was modeled after a Japanese dojo.

In the middle of the hall was a tall man with red streaks running through his blond hair was busying landing impossible looking high kicks at the suspended ball. He spotted Kay and walked over.

"Hey Nike, what's up?" He smiled genially and Harry thought that if he hadn't witnessed the man's previous feat, he would have just dismissed the attractive man as a regular citizen.

"Hey Andrew, this is Keres, he's my newest member. Charles wants him to undergo more training before his first mission."

The man, Andrew, cast a critical once over and walked around the young man. There was a calculative glint in the man's blue eyes as he hummed.

"Well, from what I see, he's a dueler with speed but he's a little on the too thin side. I'll have to start him with strengthening exercising with a combination of the correct diet and potions. We'll up his reflexes and stamina so he wouldn't lose out to those who depend on their physical finesse to duel. Now, kid, how old are you?"

Harry looked to Kay to see whether he could answer it truthfully; the woman nodded.

"Fifteen."

The man widened his eyes and Kay handed Andrew a file with a smirk.

"Andrew, here's his file. Don't scream." Andrew quirked an eyebrow and opened the file to peruse the contents. Then his eyes widened comically.

"Holy Fuck. He's an Unspeakable? I'm training him? Brilliant," Andrew turned to Harry and grinned, "Be ready for the training of your life, once I get start, you'll have to redefine soreness until you find something else," The man wriggled his eyebrows comically and Harry laughed, "To occupy yourself with when you come of age."

Kay rolled her eyes but was nonetheless amused.

Andrew continued reading, "Damn," he whistled, impressed, "A level Four Secrecy Act? Charles must be busy covering his bases, I bet Jonathan's dancing somewhere at snagging Jamie's spawn. Kid," Andrew turned to Harry, "Your father would be proud of you right now. He was a good man and teammate."

Harry smiled and nodded, he didn't know that his father was an Unspeakable until Kay told him earlier on. Being one of them now only made him feel closer to the father he never had the chance to know. The beryl-eyed teen looked at Kay to further explanation; the woman caught the curious gaze and said.

"Andrew and I were on the same team with your father, he was our team-leader. Both of us came into Team X at the same time."

Andrew nodded and then said with his eyes still on the folder's contents, "I like your codename. I don't really know you but I think sounds rather fitting."

Harry liked the man before him and looked forward to working with Andrew. Kay smiled and nodded. "Well, his training program starts at oh-eight-hundred on Monday. See you then, keep me posted with his progress."

Andrew saluted and grinned. "See you Monday."

Harry smiled and nodded while turning to follow Kay out of the room into another. This room was one of the most amazing spaces Harry had ever seen with thousands of time-turners of many different sizes, colours and designs neatly stacked on seemingly rows of shelves.

"Holy…"

Kay smiled and brought her young charge deeper into the wondrous glowing room. She looked up the shelves and then smiled again when she found what she was looking for. The time-turner she levitated from its original spot on the shelf was different from the one Harry had seen Hermione used before. It had a similar design, looking like an hourglass pendent attached to a chain but while Hermione's previous one was gold with regular looking sand, the one Kay held in her hands was platinum with softly sparkling silver sand.

"This is the time-turner temporarily on loan for you. Your timetable will be arriving shortly, what you will experience is twice the day with the help of your new time-turner. In the 48 hours a day schedule you will have with us for the next three months, you will be mastering twenty subjects. It will be tough but I have no doubt that you will take to it like a fish to water. You will learn the means to defeat your enemies and aid your cause. By the end of the summer, you will be independent and your own person."

Harry nodded with a determined gaze.

"I haven't said it before but thank you, Nike."

The woman before him smiled and inclined her head, "It was the right thing to do. I don't really want to see the Wizarding World that I live in crumble into dust but more importantly, I didn't want to see James's son wallow in guilt and self-hatred."

The pair left the room after retrieving the correct time-turner. Then a corporeal Patronus of a majestic lion came bearing gifts in the form of a letter in its mouth. Kay bent down and scratched the silvery magical manifestation after removing the letter from its mouth. The lion purred and then dissipated.

"That was Charles's Patronus."

"That was surreal, I've never seen a lion purr before," Harry said and Kay laughed, she sobered when she read the contents of the letter. The woman handed Harry the letter and the youth's face turned grim.

_Mr. Harry J. Potter,_

_We've been recently informed of your emancipation. We request for your presence for a few hours at a time you deem suitable to go over the terms of your Inheritance that you are now legitimately capable of accessing as an adult and the Lord Potter; and also during which, your Will will be drawn up and processed. _

_Sincerely,  
Ragnok  
Director of Gringotts Inc. _

"When," Kay's voice interrupted Harry's thoughts, "would you like to go?"

"Tomorrow," Harry decided quickly, "I would to get it over with as quickly as possible, since I start on Monday, I don't want anything interrupting the schedule, I'll write back later and request for a private meeting. Is it possible to Portkey directly into a meeting room of sorts? I don't want to risk being identified by some random person and alert Dumbledore of my absence at the Dursleys'."

Kay nodded and then gestured for the younger wizard to follow her. "I'll arrange something through Charles, I'm sure he'd be more than willing to help you."

"Thanks."

They walked in relative silence until Harry spoke up, asking.

"So how is the Department structured?" Kay considered the question before launching into an earnest explanation.

"Charles runs the entire department. There are two parts, the Operations side, which I belong to, and the Research side which Edith runs with Croaker as her deputy. The Research side is the public face of the Department. People know they exist and that's fine. Every member of the Research side researches magic. People know who they are, sometimes, and that is fine in most cases. Research gets involved with all sorts of things both inside and outside the Ministry itself and with other Ministries around the world. Charles manages some of that but Edith and Croaker handles most of that."

"Within our side, we have Charles as our head and Jonathan as our trainer and commander of sorts. There are twenty teams of five that operate on our side. I am a member of team ten. Right now we only have four people since one of us transferred to another country. If you about the Muggle MI-5, we are their magical equivalent. Operations handles the dangerous research missions that Research can't handle. We also settle matters that are of a sensitive nature. We handle magical beasts of extreme nature such as Basilisks, wild Sphinxes etcetera."

"We also handle certain missions of a more questionable nature such as assassinations, covert infiltrations, and political interferences. Sometimes, we're the invisible frontline, hidden amongst the Aurors. We actually have some Aurors amongst us; they are responsible for spying on the DMLE. Our first allegiance is to the DoM as its family of elite operatives. They say we are part of the Ministry but I would like to think that the Ministry is a weak extension of the DoM. We are part of the oldest department of the entire system, even older than the Ministry you see today."

"The Minister knows that the Operational side exists and so does the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot but they don't know exactly who we are. We were the original governing body until one of our previous leaders decided to push the entire department into the shadows; unseen but omnipresent. From then, we started gaining a reputation; nobody really knows what or who we are but there goes a saying that the less of something you know, the more you will fear."

Harry absorbed the information like an eager sponge as Kay continued talking, passing on her knowledge.

"DoM operatives are amongst the most skilled wizards and witches in Britain; we go through a tough and vigorous process of examining potential candidates, very few people get through the first round, which was the dueling. Usually Jonathan just plays around with them and then finishes them off with a painful Cruciatus. Not many actually gave him a run for his money for you and you're fifteen. Some people are recommended or scouted, like you. So that's another similarity we share with MI-5, we are actually in contact with that organization. A selected few knows about our existence but are spelled to secrecy."

Harry nodded and then asked again, this time in a smaller voice. "What was my father like?"

"He was a special one," Kay smiled at the memory, "Charles's favourite and many of us thought that he would be the one succeeding Charles one day. His codename was Aeolus, Lord of the Winds. James's trademark was attacking from air but it was sporadic and it frightened the shit out of the opponents because they never knew whether he was going to attack from air or from the ground. He was also _very _fast and deadly. James was one of our spies in the DMLE, we were going to bring in Sirius Black and then he left us. Your mother was part of the Research department, we used to joke that they were the DoM's poster couple."

The woman smiled fondly before sobering, becoming solemn. Grey eyes froze in determination as Kay whispered.

"If you ever need my help to do whatever that will contribute to Voldemort's demise, I'll gladly provide it, no matter how much a sacrifice I have to make. I owe at least that much to your father."

The green-eyed teen took a moment and then nodded gravely. Then Harry's eyes sparkled deviously as he smirked.

"I would probably need your blessings, Nike, to ensure my victory."

The pair shared a Machiavellian moment as an unspoken alliance was formed. Harry was one step closer to defeating Voldemort.

--------------------------------

Coming up next: _Hell on Earth_

Quick update again! Hope you guys like it! I gotta run, badminton practice! If I'm late, my coach's gonna eat me alive again T.T

My exams are nearly done! **Cackles**

Thank you all for reviewing, it's much appreciated!

Oh, check out my latest plot-bunnies on my bio and vote for your favs!

Note; the measurement of ability bars and the structure of DoM are taken from Lord Dwar's Summer of Change

Cheers,  
Lex.


	4. Author's Note

**IMPORTANT NOTE **(Dated 17th August 2009)

I've been feeling uninspired lately, so I've decided to change my pen name and put everything on hold except A Second Chance. I've also been affected by the coming transition to university and fear that I might have not enough time to update as regularly as possible. I need to revamp everything because of a slight change in style and maybe some stories will be deleted because I really don't have the time or the inspiration to carry on, but we shall see.

So far I've decided to rewriting Black Lord's Rising, On the Edge of War, Sweet Enigma, Constantine's Heir, Era of Revolution and Hellhound. I have left these stories alone for too long and so I've lost the train of plot and the excitement that came along with writing new chapters.

I apologize if this decision causes anyone disappointment but it must be done.

On the other hand, this will most probably make my stories better. So please bear with me and I hope everything will turn out for the best.

Yours Sincerely,

Lex, now Obsidian. Snake and formerly Just. a . Slytherin

(P.S: This author's note will be deleted soon.)


End file.
